Chapter 9: Record of Moving to the City in the 90s 9

Su Dakui came and went in a hurry. After sleeping at home for one night, he ran off again.

The next time they met, it was already the twenty-ninth day of the twelfth lunar month¹.

Su Dakui brought home bags and bundles of New Year’s goods², all food, plus new clothes he had bought for his wife and daughters.

On New Year’s Eve, the whole family sat down to a lavish reunion dinner.

After the meal, the family gathered around and listened to Su Dakui talk about what he had accomplished lately.

“I flipped cement twice this time, then later I went to a textile factory to trade cloth. I haven’t sold all the cloth yet, but I’m not worried about it getting stuck in my hands. We can always use it ourselves later for making clothes, bed sheets, curtains, whatever, so none of it will go to waste. That cement business was just too risky. Good thing I was sharp. The moment I saw things going the wrong way, I quit right away. There was this guy called Old Qin, and wow, he got all twenty thousand yuan worth of his cement swindled away by the trucking crew. Lost twenty thousand in one shot.” As Su Dakui talked about all this, his face practically glowed with excitement.

The current Su Dakui was the kind of man who thought, whatever makes money fast, that’s what I want to try. He had no intention of turning any profitable trade into a lifelong career. He simply didn’t want to take on too much risk, and he didn’t understand anything about starting a proper business. He just wanted to make a little on the price difference and pocket some quick cash.

For a rural man to have that kind of awareness in that sort of environment was already something remarkable.

Making a fortune was unlikely, but making enough to support the family was no problem at all.

Everything outside the village sounded so interesting, and the whole family couldn’t help feeling drawn to it.

“You can make money selling cloth too. Buy those second-grade bolts wholesale from the textile factory, then take them to the market fairs. One cartload can earn double. We’re country people ourselves, so we know exactly what country people want. Who cares if it’s second-grade cloth? Cheap and practical is what really matters.” Su Dakui started showing off his business sense again.

Jiang Chunhua was especially supportive, and said, “Cloth keeps well, so no matter how much we buy wholesale, it won’t be wasted. Eldest and Second and I are all pretty good at sewing. Once we move to the city, we could even open a tailor shop.”

Jiang Chunhua didn’t have the head for buying low and selling high, but when it came to making money from the skills she was good at, she definitely had ideas of her own.

Hearing that made Su Dakui feel warm all over. The whole family was united, everyone thinking about what was best for the household. That was exactly what he had always hoped for. If things stayed like this, there was no way their lives would turn out badly.

“Good. Once Third finishes school and you all move into the city, you women can get the tailor shop started first. Forget making clothes, even if you just make sheets and quilt covers, you could still earn money setting up a street stall in the city. If our whole family works hard for two years, we’ll get all four courtyards built by then, and after that we won’t have to worry about anything.” Su Dakui’s eyes shone with startling brightness.

Jiang Chunhua was bewildered. “What four courtyards?”

Su Dakui slapped his thigh. “Look at that. I got so happy I forgot to tell you the most important thing. I bought four plots of Homestead Land. Our three daughters won’t have to worry about marriage prospects in the future, they’ll each have a house as part of their dowry. Whose daughters could have better conditions than ours?”

Those words brought tears to Jiang Chunhua’s eyes.

She had never given birth to a son, only three daughters, yet her husband had never disliked that. He had raised them as if they were sons. Her whole life had truly been worth it.

Su Huandan’s family had never had any contact with her paternal grandfather’s side, and ties with her maternal grandparents’ side had also been cut off after the autumn harvest.

On the Su family’s side, only Su Dakui remained, and he had no close relatives, so there was really no one in Shangsha Village for them to visit.

So on the morning of the first day of the New Year, the three sisters just went from house to house around the neighborhood, paying New Year visits to the neighbors in front of and behind their home. In the afternoon, their parents went to greet a few of the village’s very elderly people, and that was that.

On the first day of the New Year, children came by from time to time to offer New Year greetings, and after handing out some candy, the day passed just like that.

On the second day of the New Year³, they normally should have gone to the Jiang Family, but now there was no need.

They just prepared a feast at home and ate it themselves. Wasn’t that far better than going to the Jiang Family and putting up with people’s cold faces?

But things were not so easy for the Jiang Family.

The old couple had never imagined that their daughter Jiang Chunhua would truly cut ties with them. After that big blowup, no more benefits came their way at all.

No one brought New Year’s goods anymore, and their holiday had been a rather shabby one.

On the second day of the New Year, they figured that no matter what, she ought to come by once, right?

Plenty of married daughters in the countryside didn’t keep up regular contact with their natal families, but they still came home once during the New Year.

But Jiang Chunhua simply did not come back.

The old couple was so angry their chests hurt.

“If I’d known it’d turn out like this, I should’ve sat on her and smothered her to death the day she was born. That shameless little thing, not even afraid she’ll be struck dead by lightning.” Grandma Jiang muttered on and on. Even during the New Year, she had no taboos at all when it came to cursing people.

Grandpa Jiang grew irritated listening to her and knocked the bowl of his tobacco pipe against something. “Enough, shut your mouth already. Our daughter-in-law hasn’t left yet. What if she hears you and throws a few words back at you? If ties are cut, then they’re cut. We didn’t get much benefit from them anyway. That little wolf cub Su Dakui keeps all the money in his own hands. Your daughter isn’t the one in charge.”

Grandma Jiang gave a cold laugh. “Not in charge? Then she doesn’t know how expensive firewood and rice are? The meat and eggs Chunhua brought over all year round added up to at least twenty yuan. And all those vegetables she brought over one summer were enough for us to eat. The vegetables we grew ourselves, our son took them into the city to sell and made another thirty-something yuan. Even if you don’t count that as taking advantage, where are you going to earn back those fifty-plus yuan in the future? Not to mention that mother and her three daughters are all hardworking. With them helping with work inside and outside the house, weren’t you happy taking it easy?”

Only then did Grandpa Jiang fall silent.

“So tell me, if they don’t want to come anymore, what can you do about it?” Grandpa Jiang wasn’t unaware of all that. Of course he knew. But now that they weren’t falling for their tricks anymore, what could he do?

“What can I do? I’ll report her. I’ll go to the police station and report Jiang Chunhua for refusing to support her parents.” On Grandma Jiang’s plump pale face, her triangular eyes⁴ looked especially fierce.

And once the New Year was over and the police station reopened, Grandma Jiang really did go.

The police didn’t handle that kind of matter, so they simply sent her to the court, and from that point it was no longer their concern.

The court naturally had to accept the case.

Then they had to send people out to investigate, and once they did, they were in for a shock.

Grandma Jiang had pulled a classic move, the guilty party striking first⁵ with false accusations.

The court immediately wanted nothing to do with it, but since the case had already been accepted, it had to be brought to some kind of conclusion.

In the end, it was settled privately.

Grandma Jiang demanded one thousand yuan in support payments, and Jiang Chunhua demanded one thousand yuan in compensation.

Wasn’t it Grandma Jiang who had “injured” Jiang Chunhua’s neck?

The neighbors could all testify to that.

Then the two sums of money would cancel each other out, and the matter would be settled.

Good grief, nothing had even happened to Su Huandan’s family, and they had just gained another wave of sympathy.

This time, the Jiang Family’s reputation was completely ruined throughout all the surrounding villages.

Jiang Chunhua was truly heartbroken this time. She had always thought her parents still cared about her a little, but after this, she no longer dared think that way.

After Grandma Jiang’s stunt of playing the victim first had passed, Jiang Chunhua changed completely, becoming more and more like the mother Su Huandan remembered.

Sharp-tongued, cheerful, and fiercely protective of her children.

Her face was bright with a radiant smile all day long. Even though the wrinkles at the corners of her big round almond eyes could no longer be hidden, she was still full of charm.

Translator’s Notes